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Posted: 4/01/21

Looks at Future Pandemic Impact on Public Employees

 

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A timely look at the COVID-19 Pandemic’s current and future impact on public service employees was the focus of a  virtual lecture hosted by Texas A&M International University’s (TAMIU) Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 296, Wednesday, April 14 at 6 p.m.

Dr. Peter Haruna, TAMIU professor of Public Administration and Government, presented “Experiencing Public Service as a Calling:  How the COVID-19 Pandemic Turned Public Employees from Villains to Heroes and Victims.” 

The Phi Kappa Phi (PKP) Love of Learning Spring Lecture was open to the public and free of charge and presented virtually on WebEx  at https://tamiu.webex.com/tamiu/j.php?MTID=md19ee1cd781e19f852ed7c96596f38fe

It was also livestreamed on the groups' Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/PhiKappaPhiChapter296

Dr. Haruna said while the Pandemic response is ongoing, scholars are researching it now. His interest is sharply focused on its impact on those who have chosen public service as their calling.

“Organizational and human resources management scholars have long argued that those who experience work as a calling often see that work as a means to improve outcomes.  I’m looking at how public service employees integrate COVID-19 into how they construct their work experience and professional identity.  For this particular lecture, I look at how pre-Pandemic public service employees have been held in negative regard and considered villains by some.  With paradigm-changing events like the COVID-19 Pandemic, that view has changed:  public service employees are regarded as heroes and, in some instances, victims. My lecture hopes to look at how we understand the Pandemic’s influence on the image of public service,” Dr. Haruna said.

Haruna  joined the TAMIU faculty in 2000. He is a recognized international scholar and researcher in the College of Arts and Sciences, department of Social Sciences. He also directs the University’s accredited graduate program in Public Administration.

He received his Doctoral and Master’s degrees in Public Administration from the University of Akron, Ohio and his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Ghana, Accra.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective all-discipline honor society.

Phi Kappa Phi annually inducts approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff, and alumni. Once inducted, Phi Kappa Phi members gain a lifelong passport to a global network of academic and professional opportunities. TAMIU inducted 79 new members into its Chapter 296 March 13, 2021.  The Chapter was first installed in 2005.

For more, visit the Chapter’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/PhiKappaPhiChapter296

To support or learn  more about TAMIU’s Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 296, please visit:

https://www.tamiu.edu/coas/lla/phikappaphi.shtml